New Zealand
Door: Erik van der Maarel
Blijf op de hoogte en volg EriK
02 Januari 2015 | Nieuw Zeeland, Auckland
New Zealand
I boarded my first flight to Brisbane and arrived there early christmas morning. The next flight was to Nadi (Fiji) at 9:00 am. At Nadi I was picked up by a cab from my hostel (Bamboo Backpackers) and checked in for one night. I celebrated Christmas with some other backpackers and had a nice night. The next day (Boxing day) I went to the airport once again to board my flight to New Zealand and visit uncle Bart. The flight was quick and before I knew it I walked through the glass doors at the arrival hall and there was Bart waiting for me. He drove me to his house were Sora and Imran were waiting for me to arrive. It was fun to see each other again after 11 months so we had a lot of catching up to do! Sora prepared an amazing curry dish for dinner and afterwards we sat down to watch a movie. After the movie I had a surprise for everyone and I pulled out some gifts that I bought in Kuta. I went to bed with a good feeling and was looking forward to the next day.
Bart and I woke up early and drove to the city center of Auckland to catch the ferry to Waiheke Island. It is a famous Island were a lot of celebrities and rich people have there house. We drove around the Island and had a delicious lunch in the "city center". After lunch we visited some winery's and hiked to the highest point of the island. We boarded the ferry from 3:00 pm and went back to Bart his place. We ate dinner all together and went to bed early because I was going to help Bart out at the market to sell some bacon.
My alarm went off at 4:00 am and we drove straight to the warehouse to collect the bacon. Once everything was loaded in to the van we drove to the market on the other side of Auckland. We set up the tents and Bart prepared his famous bacon and egg sandwich for breakfast, very very nice. The rest of the morning Bart and I did the sales and two Asian girls did the cooking. The morning was over before we knew it. We did quite alright and the turnover wasn't so bad either. We packed our stuff and went to the casino to earn some extra money... Well that didn't work out for me but I didn't lose a lot of money. We drove back to Bart his house and as soon as we arrived I jumped in my bed to take a nap. The rest of the day we relaxed around the house and I looked at what to do the next two days.
The next day I decided to drive to Whangarei and see something from the upper north part of the island. I drove around in Bart his Mitsubishi Launcher and enjoyed the landscape. I made a couple of stopover at beaches on the east side of the island were I would take a nice relaxing brake. At some point I was driving in the hills and I was again amazed by the scenery and beauty of the country. I arrived at Whangarei Falls Holiday Park around 5:00 pm and went to take a look at the waterfall next door. After the short hike I went to the Countdown for my "dinner" and bought some sandwiches. The rest of the evening I chatted with some other backpackers and looked for what to do the next day.
I decided to go back to Auckland and visit Bethells Beach and Karekare beach. This time I drove via the west side of the island. I took me around three hours to reach Bethells beach were I walked around and ate my lunch. Next stop Karekare: a very nice beach with a beautiful scenic point. After Karekare I drove back to Bart his house but there was nobody there...
I had a key but I also knew that the alarm might be on... So I called Bart and asked for the code. He gave me the code and I went in, tried the code: denied. The alarm started to go off and I gave it another try: denied. I started to freak out a bit and called Bart again and he told me to try another code: denied! The alarm was now going off for around five minutes, I gave up and walked out. Luckily the alarm stopped going of as soon as I closed the door... I opened the door again and this time the alarm didn't go off... In the end the code didn't work because simply it wasn't the right one :).
Bart arrived around 5:00 pm from work and he had a surprise for me: the new Hobbit movie! We went to the cinema, bought a big bucket of popcorn and sat down to enjoy the movie. The movie was amazing but unfortunately this was the last episode :(. We went for a big delicious greasy burger next to the cinema before going back home. In the evening we set down and drank some hot coco before going to bed.
I woke up and it was the last day of 2014. I had some planning to do for the island hopping on Fiji. It took me some time to figure out were I wanted to go (because everything looked amazing) but in the end I decided to stay my first two nights at Blue Lagoon Beach Resort. I took a nap to prepared myself for New Year's Eve. In the afternoon we got in the car and drove to the sky tower and went into the casino. There was live music, gambling and beer: ingredients for a good night out. I made some money with playing blackjack and spent it on beer :). Before we knew it the final countdown of 2014 started and we raced outside to see the firework! Happy new year everybody! After the fireworks we went back to the casino and stayed there until 2:00 am. This was a good end of an amazing year and a good beginning of 2015.
The next morning I woke up with a sore head but I had no time to complain: it was time for the New Years dive! We arrived at the beach: I got out of the car and it was freezing (26 degrees Celsius), I ran into the ice cold water (20 degrees Celsius) and stayed in there for some seconds (hours) before getting out of there. Sorry people back home, it's summer in New Zealand :). We stayed at the beach almost all day and had lots of fun together. In the afternoon we went back home and ate dinner together for the last time. I packed my bags, watched Planet of the Apes and went to bed.
I had to wake up early to catch my flight at 9:45 am. I ate breakfast and said goodbye to Sora and Imran. Bart drove me to the airport, I checked in for my flight and we drank a cup of coffee together. Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to each other after coffee. But, we might see each other again in 2015... To be continued ;).
It was good to see my family in New Zealand again and I will definitely miss them. Thanks again Bart, Sora and Imran for letting me stay in your house and taking care of me! See you soon!
I boarded my first flight to Brisbane and arrived there early christmas morning. The next flight was to Nadi (Fiji) at 9:00 am. At Nadi I was picked up by a cab from my hostel (Bamboo Backpackers) and checked in for one night. I celebrated Christmas with some other backpackers and had a nice night. The next day (Boxing day) I went to the airport once again to board my flight to New Zealand and visit uncle Bart. The flight was quick and before I knew it I walked through the glass doors at the arrival hall and there was Bart waiting for me. He drove me to his house were Sora and Imran were waiting for me to arrive. It was fun to see each other again after 11 months so we had a lot of catching up to do! Sora prepared an amazing curry dish for dinner and afterwards we sat down to watch a movie. After the movie I had a surprise for everyone and I pulled out some gifts that I bought in Kuta. I went to bed with a good feeling and was looking forward to the next day.
Bart and I woke up early and drove to the city center of Auckland to catch the ferry to Waiheke Island. It is a famous Island were a lot of celebrities and rich people have there house. We drove around the Island and had a delicious lunch in the "city center". After lunch we visited some winery's and hiked to the highest point of the island. We boarded the ferry from 3:00 pm and went back to Bart his place. We ate dinner all together and went to bed early because I was going to help Bart out at the market to sell some bacon.
My alarm went off at 4:00 am and we drove straight to the warehouse to collect the bacon. Once everything was loaded in to the van we drove to the market on the other side of Auckland. We set up the tents and Bart prepared his famous bacon and egg sandwich for breakfast, very very nice. The rest of the morning Bart and I did the sales and two Asian girls did the cooking. The morning was over before we knew it. We did quite alright and the turnover wasn't so bad either. We packed our stuff and went to the casino to earn some extra money... Well that didn't work out for me but I didn't lose a lot of money. We drove back to Bart his house and as soon as we arrived I jumped in my bed to take a nap. The rest of the day we relaxed around the house and I looked at what to do the next two days.
The next day I decided to drive to Whangarei and see something from the upper north part of the island. I drove around in Bart his Mitsubishi Launcher and enjoyed the landscape. I made a couple of stopover at beaches on the east side of the island were I would take a nice relaxing brake. At some point I was driving in the hills and I was again amazed by the scenery and beauty of the country. I arrived at Whangarei Falls Holiday Park around 5:00 pm and went to take a look at the waterfall next door. After the short hike I went to the Countdown for my "dinner" and bought some sandwiches. The rest of the evening I chatted with some other backpackers and looked for what to do the next day.
I decided to go back to Auckland and visit Bethells Beach and Karekare beach. This time I drove via the west side of the island. I took me around three hours to reach Bethells beach were I walked around and ate my lunch. Next stop Karekare: a very nice beach with a beautiful scenic point. After Karekare I drove back to Bart his house but there was nobody there...
I had a key but I also knew that the alarm might be on... So I called Bart and asked for the code. He gave me the code and I went in, tried the code: denied. The alarm started to go off and I gave it another try: denied. I started to freak out a bit and called Bart again and he told me to try another code: denied! The alarm was now going off for around five minutes, I gave up and walked out. Luckily the alarm stopped going of as soon as I closed the door... I opened the door again and this time the alarm didn't go off... In the end the code didn't work because simply it wasn't the right one :).
Bart arrived around 5:00 pm from work and he had a surprise for me: the new Hobbit movie! We went to the cinema, bought a big bucket of popcorn and sat down to enjoy the movie. The movie was amazing but unfortunately this was the last episode :(. We went for a big delicious greasy burger next to the cinema before going back home. In the evening we set down and drank some hot coco before going to bed.
I woke up and it was the last day of 2014. I had some planning to do for the island hopping on Fiji. It took me some time to figure out were I wanted to go (because everything looked amazing) but in the end I decided to stay my first two nights at Blue Lagoon Beach Resort. I took a nap to prepared myself for New Year's Eve. In the afternoon we got in the car and drove to the sky tower and went into the casino. There was live music, gambling and beer: ingredients for a good night out. I made some money with playing blackjack and spent it on beer :). Before we knew it the final countdown of 2014 started and we raced outside to see the firework! Happy new year everybody! After the fireworks we went back to the casino and stayed there until 2:00 am. This was a good end of an amazing year and a good beginning of 2015.
The next morning I woke up with a sore head but I had no time to complain: it was time for the New Years dive! We arrived at the beach: I got out of the car and it was freezing (26 degrees Celsius), I ran into the ice cold water (20 degrees Celsius) and stayed in there for some seconds (hours) before getting out of there. Sorry people back home, it's summer in New Zealand :). We stayed at the beach almost all day and had lots of fun together. In the afternoon we went back home and ate dinner together for the last time. I packed my bags, watched Planet of the Apes and went to bed.
I had to wake up early to catch my flight at 9:45 am. I ate breakfast and said goodbye to Sora and Imran. Bart drove me to the airport, I checked in for my flight and we drank a cup of coffee together. Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to each other after coffee. But, we might see each other again in 2015... To be continued ;).
It was good to see my family in New Zealand again and I will definitely miss them. Thanks again Bart, Sora and Imran for letting me stay in your house and taking care of me! See you soon!
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
